Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,387 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,564 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $18,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $635,056,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares in the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 3,749,502 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $427,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,409 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $135,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,144,818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $126.18 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.